Monday, January 6, 2014

Epic by John Eldredge

I wanted to share this little book called Epic. It is not a classic, but it certainly can be applied to the classics that we love to read.

Why do we love to read stories? Author John Eldredge states that:

[Stories are] the language of the heart. Stories nourish us. They provide a kind of food that the soul craves. Stories shed light on our lives.

As Virginia Woolf said, "...to give you my life, I must tell you a story."

Exceptional stories speak to the heart, and they all follow a similar story line. First, all is well; then conflict occurs; next, a great battle or perilous journey ensues; and when all seems lost, there is a hero to make it right again.

Eldredge, from a Christian perspective, makes the case that these stories take from an even greater Story that has been "written on the human heart."

This Epic Story has an Author, and the Story has a beginning, Act I, which was created for us and has the promise of something very good.

But wickedness enters the story in Act II, and there is an evil villain.

In Act III, a great battle for the human heart rages, and there is captivity and rescue, including a hero and a sacrifice.

Finally, in Act IV, all that is good and right returns, and relationships are reestablished.

Think about your favorite stories that follow this formula:The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Pilgrim's Progress, A Christmas Carol, Braveheart, The Last of the Mohicans, Oliver Twist, and so on.

The Greatest Story ever told is unfolding right now before our eyes, and we are a part of it. We all have a role to play. Our human heart desires that "Happily ever after" - that reconciliation and restoration of truth and goodness and eternity.

But the question remains: how will you play your part once you know the truth?